Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Navient in a report on Monday, September 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on Navient from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Navient from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Navient from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.00.

Navient Stock Down 12.2%

NAVI opened at $5.92 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.37, a quick ratio of 10.53 and a current ratio of 7.50. Navient has a twelve month low of $5.91 and a twelve month high of $13.48. The firm has a market cap of $555.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 1.17.

Navient (NASDAQ:NAVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $308.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.92 million. Navient had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 3.65%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.84) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Navient will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Navient by 286.7% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,223 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 3,131 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Navient by 325.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,005 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 3,829 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Navient by 552.6% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,855 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 4,111 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Navient in the first quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Greenwood Gearhart LLC bought a new position in Navient in the first quarter valued at about $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.14% of the company’s stock.

Navient Company Profile

Navient is a U.S.-focused education finance company whose business has centered on managing student loan portfolios and providing loan servicing. Its services have included payment processing, borrower account support and repayment assistance for federal and private education loans, as well as asset-recovery and business-processing services. The company was formed in 2014 through the separation of SLM Corporation, commonly known as Sallie Mae. Navient later transferred federal student loan servicing operations to other providers, including a transfer to Maximus in 2021 and an agreement to move its remaining federal servicing accounts to MOHELA in 2024.